Start-up handset leasing service provider Tink Labs wants to have more than 3 million units installed in hotel rooms worldwide by the end of this year on roubust demand for free voice service and Internet connection, a company executive said yesterday.
That would be a 30-fold increase, given that the Hong Kong-based firm, which Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) has invested in, currently has more than 100,000 smartphones in hotel rooms in 30 cities — including London, Paris and Rome.
“By year’s end, we hope to expand our services to more than 100 cities around the world, with 3 million hotel rooms having our Handy phones,” Akina Ho (胡芯), an executive vice president of Tink Labs’ hospitality business, told a media briefing in Taipei.
“We even have staff in Egypt,” she said.
Given the expansion plans, Tink Labs’ headcount might triple from its current 300 employees, she said.
Tink Labs, founded by 24-year-old Terence Kwok (郭頌賢) in 2012, offers free voice calls, including international calls and Internet access, as well as hotels’ service details and local activities via its “Hhandy” smartphone.
It counts Ritz-Carlton, Hyatt and W Hotel among its partners.
Tink Labs charges hotels telecom and service fees, but its major revenue source is advertisements, Ho said.
Tink Tabs sourced a large chunk of its devices from InFocus Inc (富可視), which has them made by Foxconn, Ho said.
With Foxconn’s acquisition of Sharp Corp last year, Tink Tabs plans to introduce more Sharp handsets from the middle of this year, she said.
The company plans to offer its services in Taiwan late next month or early April, Ho said, adding that it aims to have its Handy phones in 10,000 hotel rooms in this nation by the end of this year.
Tink Labs is working with Asia Pacific Telecom Co (亞太電信), Foxconn Technology Group’s telecom arm, to provide voice calls and Internet connection services for hotels in Taiwan, Ho said.
Foxconn invested US$135 million in the start-up via its handset manufacturing subsidiary FIH Mobile Ltd (富智康), making it the largest investor in Tink Labs.
Sinovation Ventures (創新工廠), the investment firm of ex-Google China head Lee Kaifu (李開復), and Cai Wensheng (蔡文勝), chairman of Chinese selfie app developer and smartphone maker Meitu Inc (美圖) are also investors.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said its materials management head, Vanessa Lee (李文如), had tendered her resignation for personal reasons. The personnel adjustment takes effect tomorrow, TSMC said in a statement. The latest development came one month after Lee reportedly took leave from the middle of last month. Cliff Hou (侯永清), senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer, is to concurrently take on the role of head of the materials management division, which has been under his supervision, TSMC said. Lee, who joined TSMC in 2022, was appointed senior director of materials management and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Thursday met with US President Donald Trump at the White House, days before a planned trip to China by the head of the world’s most valuable chipmaker, people familiar with the matter said. Details of what the two men discussed were not immediately available, and the people familiar with the meeting declined to elaborate on the agenda. Spokespeople for the White House had no immediate comment. Nvidia declined to comment. Nvidia’s CEO has been vocal about the need for US companies to access the world’s largest semiconductor market and is a frequent visitor to China.
Hypermarket chain Carrefour Taiwan and upscale supermarket chain Mia C’bon on Saturday announced the suspension of their partnership with Jkopay Co (街口支付), one of Taiwan’s largest digital payment providers, amid a lawsuit involving its parent company. Carrefour and Mia C’bon said they would notify customers once Jkopay services are reinstated. The two retailers joined an array of other firms in suspending their partnerships with Jkopay. On Friday night, popular beverage chain TP Tea (茶湯會) also suspended its use of the platform, urging customers to opt for alternative payment methods. Another drinks brand, Guiji (龜記), on Friday said that it is up to individual
READY TO BUY: Shortly after Nvidia announced the approval, Chinese firms scrambled to order the H20 GPUs, which the company must send to the US government for approval Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) late on Monday said the technology giant has won approval from US President Donald Trump’s administration to sell its advanced H20 graphics processing units (GPUs) used to develop artificial intelligence (AI) to China. The news came in a company blog post late on Monday and Huang also spoke about the coup on China’s state-run China Global Television Network in remarks shown on X. “The US government has assured Nvidia that licenses will be granted, and Nvidia hopes to start deliveries soon,” the post said. “Today, I’m announcing that the US government has approved for us
RSS